- omega-3 blood levels correlated with better mental performance in the elderly. “The team found that people who had higher blood levels of vitamins B, C, D and E and omega-3 fatty acids scored higher on the mental-function tests, including attention tasks and visual and spatial skills, than those with lower levels of these nutrients.”
- “ Inflammation, atherosclerosis, and coronary artery disease.” An influential New England Journal of Medicine article from 2005. The next time someone tells you that heart disease is due to high cholesterol, refer them to this article.
- Weak evidence that bacteria in food stimulate the immune system. Indian women who ate yogurt to which a probiotic had been added had more of an immune-related molecule in their feces than before and after that ingestion.
- Speaking of India, do medical students who gain admission by fraud become dangerous doctors? India has a problem.
Thanks to Tim Beneke.
Interesting link on CAD. Although I don’t think inflammation is the key any more than cholesterol was. Inflammation is a reaction, a link in the chain of cause-and-effect.
What causes the inflammation in the first place?
Visceral fat?
https://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/8990.aspx
Perhaps the inflammation is an overreaction. Maybe it is caused by infection — e.g., infection by bacteria in the mouth.
“•Weak evidence that bacteria in food stimulate the immune system”
Why is it weak and not strong evidence? im actaully not sure of you’r point or rather opinion of the study? concuring or disagreeing?
I agree with the conclusion of the study. It is weak evidence because the signal isn’t especially strong and the design isn’t terribly good.
Re: Inflammation.
I was doing SLD using flax seed oil for two weeks before my last dental appointment. My pockets that were 4′s and 5″s magically changed to 2′s and 3″s. I had my dentist print both the reports because I was so grateful that they stopped talking about some really painful sounding root work. My brushing and flossing were totally unchanged.
I was expecting the result because of what I’ve read on the blog, but nothing this good. I am convinced that taking flax=reduction in gum inflammation, at the very least.
@Jim, I used to have big problems with staining on my teeth. I had to get my teeth cleaned every three months. After I started taking flaxseed oil daily, the staining was greatly reduced. I did not change my flossing or brushing habits, and I didn’t cut down on my coffee consumption (the dental hygienist seemed to think that the staining was caused by the three cups of coffee I drink daily). I wonder if the staining was related to some sort of inflammatory process.
“Perhaps the inflammation is an overreaction. Maybe it is caused by infection — e.g., infection by bacteria in the mouth.”
I suspect that’s a secondary symptom as well. The folks who’ve studied non-Western people looking for signs of the diseases of civilization find a lack of heart disease and a lack of tooth decay…
Are you familiar with Burkitt’s “Western Diseases, Their Emergence and Prevention”? The most fascinating finding from that book was that autoimmune diseases were absent in Africa prior to the adaptation of the Western diet…
https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674950207